Presidentiables to court labor

Now that the unemployment rate has hit 11 percent according to the National Statistics Office, candidates vying for the highest position in the land must make known how they plan to give decent jobs to Filipinos.

With the “Workers’ Presidentiables Forum”, labor and the public may finally have a glance at the presidentiables’ employment program.

Presidential candidates Sen. Raul Roco, Evangelist Bro. Eddie Villanueva and Sen. Ping Lacson have made themselves available for the forum slated for March 30, 2004 at the Occupational Safety and Health Center in Quezon City.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and Koalisyon ng Nagkakaisang Pilipino standard bearer Fernando Poe, Jr. – front runners in recent surveys – have inquired about the affair, but have yet to give a confirmation to the forum organizer, the Federation of Free Workers (FFW).

“To have 3.9 million jobless Filipinos is no joke, considering that the total estimated labor force now stands at 35.1 million,” says Ramon J. Jabar, President of FFW. “If we factor in the graduating class of 2004, the figure will definitely go higher.”

Other important issues that labor hopes the Presidentiables would discuss are labor-only contracting, wages and workers’ rights.

“We don’t want demeaning jobs and non-remunerative wages. We want ‘decent work’ considering that it has been a while since the last wage increase. Employers have removed ‘security of tenure’ from their vocabulary,” adds Jabar.

Under the unique format of the Workers’ Presidentiables Forum, each candidate is given an hour, where they will have the opportunity to present their platform of government and engage only the workers themselves in an open forum.

FFW says it wants to prevent mudslinging among the candidates so it has decided not to let them “debate”. Thus, each candidate’s allotted time is their hour with labor “alone”.

Some 500 local union leaders, including those from Iloilo, Davao and Cagayan de Oro are expected to attend the forum. FFW is one of the largest workers’ organizations in the country, with local unions and sectoral organizations scattered nationwide.

Unlike other groups and civil society organizations, FFW has not campaigned for or against any candidate. The Forum is intended to help workers decided whom to vote for, come May.

Federation of Free Workers (FFW)
March 25, 2004